Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Lack of power or effectiveness; weakness.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Powerlessness; impotence; feebleness.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Lack of power; inability.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Impotence ,weakness .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun powerlessness revealed by an inability to act
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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While less deference may be due now that the formal authority's impuissance has been exposed, this is not the time to mock, point fingers, or rest on our laurels.
Karthika Sasikumar: The Fractures That Breed Danger Karthika Sasikumar 2011
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Following a tinny peace agreement this week, allegations have arisen that there may have even been a $6 million bribe to encourage Taliban leaders 'cooperation, revealing the extent of the government's impuissance and desperation.
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Most analysts of international relations agree that it was a period during which the traditional alliance between Washington and Brussels was languished; mainly due to Bush administration's impuissance to search for broader consensus regarding the Iraq War.
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Il y a une certaine impuissance de ces mots pour guérir les maux de coeur.
epilogue 2006
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She thought she was sick; she had never felt such impuissance.
In Other Worlds Attanasio, A. A. 1984
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I knew, impotent as I was, that I _could_ play it -- I could feel the sense of power tingling through my own impuissance.
The Making Of A Novelist An Experiment In Autobiography David Christie Murray
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-- Si donc les noirs sont bornés ici à un petit commerce de détail, n'en accusons pas leur impuissance, mais le préjugé des blancs, qui leur donnent des entraves.
The Journal of Negro History, Volume 1, January 1916 Various
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Think but lightly of such impuissance? what stops my despair?
From ‘Saul’ 1917
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Then came the Son of God in time when man was vanquished of ignorance and impuissance.
The Golden Legend, vol. 1 1230-1298 1900
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After, came the law of God, which hath given commandment in which he hath been overcome of impuissance, as first he hath cried: There is none that fulfilleth but that commandeth.
The Golden Legend, vol. 1 1230-1298 1900
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